The2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China were a series of visits by delegations of theKuomintang[note 1] (KMT) and their alliedPan-Blue Coalition tomainland China. They were hailed as the highest level of exchange between theChinese Communist Party and theKuomintang sinceChiang Kai-shek andMao Zedongmet inChongqing,China on August 28, 1945.
On March 28, 2005, the Kuomintang's vice chairmanChiang Pin-kung led a delegation in the first official visit to mainland China by a senior leader of the Kuomintang in 60 years. Later, on April 26, 2005, a 70-member delegation led by the Kuomintang's chairmanLien Chan leftTaipei for the ROC'sde jure capital ofNanjing viaHong Kong, launching Lien's 8-dayTaiwan Strait peace tour; also the first such visit to mainland China in 60 years.
While in mainland China, Lien met with General SecretaryHu Jintao and expressed interest in improvingcross-strait dialogues. Both also re-affirmed a belief in the "One China principle", which was not acknowledged by Taiwan's then-ruling party, theDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had been a part of Taiwan'sPan-Green Coalition.
Lien's itinerary also included visits toXi'an, where he had lived as a child during theSecond Sino-Japanese War andWorld War II;Nanjing, the officialcapital of theRepublic of China and the site of theSun Yat-sen Mausoleum; andShanghai, China's largest city and site of extensive Taiwanese financial and economic investment in recent years.
In 2004, the KMT first proposed that the former president candidate Lien Chan would visit mainland China as the elected President of the Republic of China, but this was set aside as Lien failed to win the2004 ROC presidential election. In 2005, the KMT suggested initially sending the vice chairman of the party to mainland China, with further visits to follow. This plan was followed through on March 28, when Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung led his delegation to mainland China.[1][2]
As part of the "ice-breaking tour", Chiang started his trip inGuangzhou to visit the graves of dozens of KMT members who died during an uprising against theQing dynasty in 1911.[3] On the morning of March 30, the delegation visited theSun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, then headed for Beijing to meet withCPPCC chairmanJia Qinglin. At the meeting, Jia conveyed Hu Jintao's invitation for Lien to Chiang.[4] On April 1, Lien accepted the invitation at theAichiExpo 2005.[5]
Lien Chan and his 70-member delegation departedTaipei forHong Kong on April 26, starting the 8-day "journey of peace"[6] which themainland Chinese media referred to as a "visit."[7] The Chinese media changed the airport name from "Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport" to "Taoyuan airport" to avoid mentioning the name of former leader of KMT and the latePresident of the Republic of China,Chiang Kai-shek.[8]
On that morning, about a thousand people gathered at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, and violent conflict broke out among the supporters and opponents of the tour, resulting in many injuries.[9][10]
SomePan-Green supporters illegally broughtguandao, beer bottles, stones, eggs,firecrackers, clubs, and sharpenedsugarcanes into the terminals[11][12] and started beatingPan-Blue supporters and the police, throwing stones and setting off firecrackers in the meantime. Many members of theDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP), theTaiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and theTaiwan Independence Party were arrested, along with the host of a politicaltalk show.[13]
Pan-Blue supporters fought back, swearing "an eye for an eye". There were suspectedTriad members clad in black[14] in the mob, picking on Pan-Green's supporters, causing many to be hospitalized. TheNew Party chairmanYok Mu-ming was arrested, along with other people in the Pan-Blue Coalition.
Outside theairport, a fewtaxis attempted to blockade the highway, preventing Lien from reaching the airport, but they were repelled by the motorcade's police escort. Taiwan independence advocateSu Beng and pan-Green supporters lit firecrackers in front of the terminal, but were not arrested.[12]
Lien avoided the trouble entirely having been taken into the airport via aVIP entrance.[9]
Because theAviation Police Office of Taiwan proved inept in handling the riot, its director, Chen Jui-tien was dismissed that evening.[15] TheMinister of the Interior,Su Jia-chyuan offered to resign, but the offer was rejected byPremierFrank Hsieh.[14][16]
On theInternet, teenagers parodied the event with a mockDynasty Warriors battle.[12]
The delegation transferred ontoChina Eastern Airlines toNanjing inHong Kong, where they were greeted by thePRC Liaison Office of Hong Kong.
Lien and the delegation arrived atNanjing Lukou International Airport on April 26, at 16:40.Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council headChen Yunlin was at the airport to welcome the delegation.[18] One of Lien's aides, Joanna Lai, quipped "It would have taken just two and half hours from Taipei to Nanjing by direct flight, but we took 50-60 years."[19] Lien echoed the sentiment in a short speech upon arrival, saying "Taipei and Nanjing are not too distant, but it still took 60 years to come here. It certainly took too long to make the journey."[20] That night he attended a banquet hosted by the leader of theJiangsu provincial government and lodged at theJinling Hotel.
On April 27, the delegation visited theSun Yat-sen Mausoleum, where Lien burnt incense for the former president surrounded by the general public and press reporters. Lien quotedSun Yat-Sen's last words "peace, struggle, save China" to promote a healthy relationship across the strait. Lien was the first KMT chairman to visit the mausoleum for 56 years.[21][22]
On the same day, Lien visited theMing Xiaoling Mausoleum, the former Republic of ChinaPresidential Palace,Tianfei Gong, and theFuzi Miao (Shrine of Confucius).
On the morning of April 28, Lien left Nanjing for Beijing.
In the afternoon of April 28, Lien and the delegation arrived in theBeijing Capital International Airport, where he delivered another speech.[23] Then he attended a conference with the Taiwan Affairs Office in theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse. Later, the delegation visited theForbidden City. Lien met the CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin at theGreat Hall of the People, and then watched a traditionalBeijing opera performance.
On April 29, Lien gave a speech and answered questions from students and faculty inPeking University. The speech called for a 'win-win' future of cooperation and peace, praising bothDeng Xiaoping andChiang Ching-kuo as having made pivotal decisions that led to economic growth.[24][25][26]
In the speech, he also mentioned that bothHu Shih and formerNational Taiwan University presidentFu Sinian had graduated fromPeking University, then worked at Taiwan University and spreadliberalism there. "Therefore, in terms of liberalism, both Peking University and Taiwan University are born from the same root. Especially in mainland China, it can be said that it's a bastion of freedom." But a proportion of Taiwanese students disagreed, saying both Hu and Fu were fierce opponents ofcommunism in favor offreedom of education, and thus the two universities can't be compared, and protested outside the front gate.[citation needed]
Lien then toured the university, and visited the dormitory where his mother once lived. At 15:00, Lien met Hu Jintao in theGreat Hall of the People, marking a historical meeting between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang, the first since 1945.[27] After 17:30, Lien held a press conference, and listed the five points of compromise settled upon by the two parties following the conference:[28][29][30]
That evening, Lien changed his plan for the night and met with Hu Jintao again. Reportedly, Hu Jintao invited Lien for a politics-free chat as it was Lien's last night in Beijing.
On April 30 at 11:25, the delegation arrived atXi'an Xianyang International Airport, starting Lien's tour of his birthplace.[31] Welcoming Lien were officials of theShaanxi provincial government, Taiwanese businessmen in mainland China, and children from Lien's elementary school.
At 3 pm Lien returned toHouzaimen Elementary School (then called Beixinjie Elementary), which he had attended 60 years ago. There he gave a speech and watched several presentations by the schoolchildren, among them the soon-famous "Grandpa, You are back! [zh]" skit reminiscent of theCultural Revolution.[32] Lien later donated to the school library, and the school gave him a 7 m (23 ft) long wall scroll in return.
After visiting the school, the delegation visited theTerracotta Army. In the evening,Shaanxi provincial secretaryLi Jianguo hosted aTang dynasty-style banquet for the delegation in theTang Paradise theme park.[33] Li presented the delegation with prints from theStele Forest and ancient copperware, Lien in return gave famous Taiwanese glasswork. Later, the delegation watched the musical "Dream Back to the Tang" in theFengming Jiutian Theatre.
Lien and his family members visited his grandmother's grave in Xi'an on May 1, and burnt incense at the nearbyQingliang Temple.
At 5pm on May 1, Lien arrived atShanghai Pudong International Airport.
The next day, Lien cancelled his trip atop theOriental Pearl Tower and held a press conference at theShanghai Shangri-la Hotel. He later visitedWang Daohan atJinjiang Hotel.[34] At nine he touredXintiandi, and took a harbor cruise to viewThe Bund at night.
On May 3, 1pm, Lien and his delegation flew back toTaipei, viaHong Kong.[35]
The state media in mainland China covered the visit in great detail and much of the general public welcomed this delegation with enthusiasm.
TheUnited States declared public support for Lien's visit, stating "diplomacy is the only way to resolve the cross-strait issue." However, the US also stressed that it would like to see theChinese Communist Party (CCP) have talks with Taiwan's current ruling party, as well as the KMT.[36][37][38] Western political analysts have compared the handshake of Lien and Hu Jintao to that ofYitzhak Rabin andYasser Arafat.[citation needed]
The European Union also welcomed the visit, stating they "hope it will prove to be the first positive step in the right direction."[39]
In Taiwan, public opinion was split. Polls showed that more than half of the people supported this visit,[40][41][42] theDPP argued that thePeople's Republic of China was attempting to play adivide-and-conquer game with Taiwan and causing a "widening schism" among the Taiwanese.[43][44] Former ROC President and TSU affiliateLee Teng-hui condemned the visits of Lien and Soong (see below), calling them sympathizers of mainland China who want to undermine Taiwan'ssovereignty.[45][46]
Republic of China (ROC)PresidentChen Shui-bian initially condemned Lien and said that his visit might be in violation of ROC law.[47][48] However, several days later Chen Shui-bian reversed his opinions and showed a cautious goodwill gesture to Lien's visit.[49][50][51] Chen has also altered his stance on Taiwan independence. While during the2004 Taiwan election, Chen stressed his support forTaiwanese independence; he now says that "both independence andre-unification are options" for Taiwan's future. Political fallout from Lien's trip is believed to have contributed to this change in rhetoric.
After Lien's visit, the PRC offered three "goodwill gifts" to the ROC: the normalization oftourism, which would allow direct flights across the Taiwan Strait; agricultural trade agreements that would increase sales of Taiwaneseproduce to mainland China; andtwo giant pandas for theTaipei Zoo.[52][53] After much deliberation, authorities in Taiwan declined the final gift, saying that Taipei Zoo was not suited to the task of nurturing pandas.[54] This decision was overturned following theelection ofMa Ying-jeou to the presidency in March 2008.[55]
James Soong, leader of thePeople First Party, followed Lien's visit on May 5 with a 9-day visit of his own.[56] Like Lien, Soong also met with General Secretary Hu Jintao and expressed an interest in increasing cross-strait dialogue.[57]
Prior to Soong's visit, President Chen extended an invitation to Hu Jintao to visit Taiwan so that he "can see with his own eyes that Taiwan is a sovereign nation."[58][59] However, the CCP continues to show a lack of interest in dealing with Chen and the DPP.[needs update?]
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